Why is the 2025 high school graduation exam unusually difficult?

(Dan Tri) - The 2025 high school graduation exam has ended, but the echoes are still hot on educational forums, social networks, and even in family conversations. Why was the exam unusually difficult?

Beyond the average

From students, teachers to parents, many voices echoed: This year's exam was unusually difficult. Especially in math, English and literature, many good students also fell into a state of confusion and lost support when doing the test.

This phenomenon is not an isolated incident but reflects a systemic problem in the process of constructing, controlling and orienting the test. This article analyzes the main reasons why the test exceeds the average general ability threshold, and proposes some solutions to improve the next exams.

Out of phase from goal to technical implementation

One of the biggest shortcomings of the 2025 high school graduation exam is the clear discrepancy between the exam's goal of recognizing high school graduation and the structure and method of making questions that are biased towards classification.

This bias is evident in the fact that the number of questions at the application and high application levels accounts for a large proportion, while the number of questions at the knowledge and understanding level, which is the mainstay for average students, has decreased significantly. This makes the exam unfair and inaccessible to the majority of candidates - the main target of the exam.

Not only is the content and difficulty level pushed up, but the way questions are asked and materials are selected in many subjects also reveal a heavy academic nature, not really suitable for the practical experience of high school students.

Male student cried when meeting relatives after the 2025 high school graduation math exam (Photo: Hai Long).

In literature and English, many questions are long-winded and the material is abstract, overloading reading time and draining students' energy before they get to the main part. Even math makes students exclaim, "I thought I was taking a literature essay test."

The underlying cause lies in the incorrect understanding and application of the exam matrix. The matrix should be a tool to help ensure the balance of knowledge content, cognitive level and competency orientation according to the 2018 generaleducation program.

But in reality, many units have identified the matrix with the question distribution table and used software to randomly draw questions without detailed specifications. The confusion between "matrix" and "test specification" has caused the test construction process to be completely separated from the program requirements, losing the standard in testing and assessment.

In addition, the important technical foundation, the national standardized question bank, has not yet been established. The construction of the current exam mainly relies on the experience of experts, lacking empirical data on difficulty, discrimination and targeted ability. This causes the quality of the exam to fluctuate greatly from year to year, from exam code to exam code, and depends largely on the intuition of the exam maker.

Overall, the disconnect from policy orientation (graduation assessment) to technical implementation (question making) not only undermines the scientific and fair nature of the exam, but also directly affects the rights of students, who need an exam that is close to their practical abilities, not a “probability game” called ability assessment.

A candidate sat silently after the math exam at Chu Van An Secondary School, Hanoi (Photo: Hai Long).

The gap between curriculum - teaching - testing

The 2025 graduation exam class is the first generation to complete the 2018 general education program, and is also the generation heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic during their foundation years.

The new curriculum requires integrated thinking, self-study and problem solving, but teaching methods in many places still focus heavily on practice tests and rote learning. Students are not equipped with essential academic skills such as complex reading comprehension, time allocation and logical analysis.

The gap between curriculum – teaching – testing has not been filled, leading to a serious “breakpoint” in the education system. The obvious difference between the sample questions and the official exam questions has further increased the confusion and bewilderment among both teachers and students.

The story of difficult exam questions that are not suitable for teaching and learning practices is a topic that has received much debate after the 2025 high school graduation exam (Illustration: Bao Quyen).

The gap between textbooks and exam questions: “a world apart”

In the spirit of the 2018 General Education Program, textbooks are a tool to specify the "requirements to be achieved" - that is, the minimum competencies, knowledge and skills that students need to master after a period of study. In principle, graduation exams need to be based on these requirements to ensure consistency and reasonableness in assessment.

In fact, the 2025 exam, especially in math, literature and English, has many questions that go beyond the scope and level of presentation in textbooks. Complex questions, strange language and high application requirements appear frequently, making it impossible for students to orient their review content, even though they have actively studied systematically according to textbooks. The gap between textbooks and exam questions can be likened to "a world apart".

The inconsistency between teaching - learning - testing, students without extra classes find it difficult to achieve high scores as commented by many teachers, parents and students, not only makes learning passive, but also shakes a fundamental principle in general education: developing self-study ability.

Many experts and teachers say there is a big gap between the exam questions and the curriculum. Students who do not attend extra classes find it difficult to get high scores (Illustration: AI).

When textbooks are no longer a reliable basis for students to study on their own, they are forced to rely on practice tests, extra study or rote learning based on their feelings. This unintentionally disorients them, discredits their belief and motivation to study – eliminating the goal of self-study that the 2018 program expects.

If not improved in the following years, this will lead to the following consequences: eliminating students' motivation and ability to self-study. Thus, the good and humane purposes of Circular 29/2024 regulating extra teaching and learning are likely to be "bankrupt".

Inconsistency in policy communication and technical procedures

In February 2025, a representative of the Ministry of Education and Training announced the construction of a question bank for the exam according to the new program, creating great expectations in the education sector. But just a few months later, at a press conference after the exam, a leader stated that the first year "will not use the question bank".

Inconsistency in policy communication not only reduces social trust but also causes teachers and students to prepare in the wrong direction. More importantly, the creation of exam questions using software, although with the goal of preventing leaking questions, does not come with a censorship mechanism, leading to many questions being "out of sync" in terms of level and structure.

Solutions to improve in the upcoming exams

Faced with the above situation, a comprehensive and systematic solution is needed.
Firstly , the exam needs to return to the graduation exam goal, prioritizing basic level questions to ensure that average students can achieve the minimum score. There needs to be a clear separation between the graduation exam and university entrance exam.

In case the Ministry of Education and Training "pivots" as explained on the morning of June 28: The exam has many adjustments to fully meet the 3 purposes of the 2025 high school graduation exam, including: Correctly assessing the learning outcomes of learners; using exam results to consider recognizing high school graduation and assessing the quality of teaching and learning of general education/continuing education institutions; providing data that is reliable and honest enough for universities and vocational education institutions to use in enrollment in the spirit of autonomy, the exam needs to return to the nature of the National High School Graduation Exam.

Second , the test development process should be based on a standardized question bank, with actual testing of difficulty and discrimination. The use of software should only be a supporting tool, not a substitute for independent professional review. Each question in the test must be controlled by clear specifications of objectives, competencies, difficulty and assessment skills.

Teaching innovation policies need to go hand in hand with assessment adjustments so that students can develop to their full potential without needing to attend extra classes (Illustration: Hai Long).

Third , it is necessary to make the exam development process transparent and ensure consistent information from the Ministry of Education and Training. Teachers and students must be provided with clear guidance and appropriate preparation time. It is necessary to conduct small-scale testing of the exam before mass application to verify its suitability and effectiveness.

Finally , teaching innovation policies need to go hand in hand with assessment adjustments. While the program aims to develop competencies, teaching and testing must create conditions for learners to practice and demonstrate those competencies correctly.

The 2025 high school graduation exam is not just a single exam, but reflects a comprehensive picture of the education system in the transition period. The fact that the exam exceeds the general capacity threshold is not simply a technical error, but the result of a series of continuous inadequacies from awareness, process to policy communication.

For the national exam to truly become a fair assessment tool and a positive orientation for education, comprehensive adjustments are needed in terms of thinking, technique and implementation.

Content: Phan Anh

Expert in educational assessment and testing

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/vi-sao-de-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-2025-kho-mot-cach-bat-thuong-20250629014446655.htm